Their child
by Alicia Marianne
Summary: Sequel to Lyra's Dust. Ten years have passed,and things have changed. Selene for one, does not like how things are going. With all her hate for her mother and all her love for her father,she finally finds a way to be reunited with him...but at what cost?
1. The war of the kids

Selene quickly dodged a handful of mud that came flying at her face. She ducked behind a big cargo box and another ball of mud, aimed at her, missed.

She could hear the victorious screams of the gypsy kids, as they felt their victory was not far ahead. Truth was, most of the city kids had fled after the sudden surprise attack, and very few now remained to fight at Selene's side.

But the girl had no time to think about that; suddenly, a young boy jumped out from behind a nearby box and threw more mud at her. Ducking, she managed to get out of the projectile's way, but another handful was being aimed at her.

Right then, like a streak of lighting, a great eagle came plunging from the skies, and grabbed hold of the boy's cat daemon. The feline snarled as the huge bird rose slowly into the air with it.

The gypsy boy dropped the mud and clasped a dirty hand over his chest, breathing hard. The eagle seemed to realize it was causing much pain, and seeing how its diversion had worked, it let go of the screeching cat.

By that time, Selene was already gone, dashing between the boxes of the large storage area. She was heading away from the gypsy base to gather her thoughts and make a plan.

The eagle rose into the air, and upon seeing her, flew at her.

"Nice one." Selene commented, grinned at the bird as it glided at her side. Isil, her daemon, screeched and turned into a wild boar, running beside her human.

"I didn't mean to hurt the kid. . ." Isil said softly as they slowed down and hid behind a box. Selene sent her a strange look, resting her back against the metallic surface.

"We can't be blamed for that, Isil! We forget, that's all!" She said, shutting her eyes. The daemon turned into a puppy and whined.

"But it's us that should be more careful! After all, not everyone can separate so far from their daemon, and therefore, we should remember that." Isil insisted.

The girl scoffed.

"That's not our fault either. It's because of Lyra; she's the one that has a daemon that can get far from her. It's genetic."

The daemon shook its puppy head and morphed into a large dog.

"I wish you'd call her mom . ." Isil finally said, after debating an answer.

Selene's eyes shot open and she gave her daemon an angry glance.

"I. . .' She breathed in deep, as if suppressing rage. 'Just fly up. . .see if any of the city kids stayed behind. . ."

Isil looked like she was going to fight for the cause, but finally, with a careless shrug, she turned into a hawk and flew up rapidly. She went very high; higher than any normal daemon could, and Selene felt nothing. This trouble her a bit, because she wished for nothing more than to be normal; sure, it was cool to have a daemon that could leave you. . .but all she wanted was to be like every other kid. . . she wanted to have a normal daemon, a mother that wasn't obsessed with the alethiometer, and a father she actually met.

There were many things Selene wanted, but few that she could actually get.

Isil flew back down at the moment, and landed on the ground.

"Three boxes to you left, five in front. Matt's stayed behind. You should go to him and tell him to gather all the kids he can find. I'll go see the gypsy base, and try to make an attack plan."

Without another word, the daemon flew away.

Selene got up slowly, listening for any approaching footsteps, and quickly set out towards were Matt was hiding. Crouching, she made it from box to box, until she finally reached the boy.

When he saw her, his daemon turned into a leopard, thinking she was the enemy. The girl rolled her eyes, and the boy calmed down.

"You gave me a jump, Sel!" He exclaimed, hand over his fluttering heart. Again, she rolled her eyes.

Then, without letting him place another word, she spoke up. "Get as many kids as you can here; Isil's gone to check out their base, so we can attack. Be back here as soon as you can!"

Matt hesitated, throwing her a look.

"Are there any chance's you'd just. . . give up?" He asked softly. The cold look the girl sent him told him everything.

The boy sighed. "I thought so. . . be right back, then. . ."

And he was off.

Selene sat down more comfortably on the ground and waited. Minutes dragged by, and distant joyful shouts from the gypsies could be heard. The girl hoped they could find a way to beat them; it might not seem like much to anyone else, but she really wanted victory. She hated loosing; on home ground most of all. After all, she had lived in Oxford all her life, and those water kids were only here once or twice a year. She had to defend the pride of her city; she just had to.

Very suddenly, a pack of murmuring kids erupted from behind a box, Matt at their head. Upon seeing Selene sitting there, they hushed down and gathered around her. Counting the girl and Matt, there was thirteen of them.

She looked up to the skies, and with a flash that made everyone gasp, Isil flew down and landed gracefully on the ground. She morphed into a beautiful lion and turned to the awed kids.

"Alright kids, so here's the thing:' The daemon said, and everyone seemed fascinated by her. 'The gypsies have built their base on the edge of the canal, and it is very well guarded. Also, there are many of them walking further off in the cargo area. It would be very hard to get to the base in a face-off attack, but. . .(she paused, eyes glinting) there IS a way of easily getting to them. Their weakness is the canal, for their base is not guarded from that side.

'I suggest that three of you go into the water, and swim up to nearby the base. The rest will go off and take on the kids that are prowling the storage area. They won't be expecting an attack so soon, and if we strike quickly, we'll take them out. Then, those who will fight will have to advance onto the base, where they should encounter ten guards.

'When those are distracted by the direct attack, the three that are in the waters will come out and take over the base. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded without hesitation. It was Selene's turn to speak.

"I'll go through the canal. Who else wants to come?"

There was a mutter in the small crowd and shyly, two boys came forth. Selene nodded at them and they quickly got behind them, as if assuring everyone they would go with her.

"Alright, then. Ready? Good luck, kids. GO!" Isil roared, and all the kids bellowed, running off towards the base, where they would meet the first squad of gypsies.

Selene and the two other waited for a moment.

"Fly ahead and lead us." The girl finally told her daemon, which turned into a hawk and with a flap of its mighty wings, burst into the air.

The other kid's daemons turned into robin and followed Isil at low altitude, guiding their humans.

They passed many boxes quickly, zigzagging in the storage area and listening to their daemons as they told them where to go. It was not an easy task, especially for the boys, whose daemons could not get far from them. They trusted Isil to guide them as well.

Then suddenly, without warning, the cargo area ended and a short, steep and muddy cliff led directly into the canal.

Isil had warned Selene of the suddenly fall, and without hesitation, the girl rushed up to it and jumped. She fell through the air and dove headfirst into the cool waters. The two boys and their daemons had skidded to a stop before the fall and were gazing at the rippling water, wondering if the girl was alright. Seconds later she emerged, gasping for air.

Isil dove from the sky and right before touching the water, changed into a dolphin. She swan up to her human and helped her stay above water.

"C'mon! Use your daemons to help you out!" Selene shouted from the dirty canal. A boat passed her and her daemon helped her get away from the propellers. The two boys, unsure, tried to climb down the muddy bank, but seeing as how it did a 90-degree angle, almost simultaneously they slipped and came crashing into the water.

They daemon, panicked, dove after them, changing respectively into a white shark and narwhale. They helped the two kids get their heads above water.

Selene gazed at them patiently, and when they had calmed down, she mentally ordered Isil to head towards the gypsy base. The dolphin chirruped happily and burrowed its nose in the river, waving its tail to go on faster. The two boys had no choice but to follow, trying to catch their breaths at the same time.

It was not a long swim; they passed two boats and a bridge, and Isil led them behind a large rock on the edge of the bank, where it was less steep. One of the boys got help from his shark daemon and crawled on the muddy side, clutching roots to hold himself up. Obviously he hated water.

Selene pulled herself up on the rock, slipping slightly, and stayed up just long enough to see the small muddy castle made by the gypsies as a base. Then, she let the weight of her wet clothes drag her back into the water.

She leaned towards the two other boys, a grave look on her face.

"There are ten or so kids by the base. I guess our troops didn't get pass the one in the cargo area yet. (she turned to her daemon, which stayed afloat in the water, waving its flippers slowly) Isil, fly up and see how the city kids are doing."

The dolphin chirped and jumped out of the water, turning into a battered seagull to attract less attention. She flew up high and out of sight.

One of the boys was looking at the disappearing daemon with awe.

"How does he get so far from you?" He asked softly.

Selene rolled her eyes, annoyed. "It's not a 'he', it's a 'she'! And I don't know, alright! She always could, and we never really wondered!" She sounded angry, and the boy shrunk away, his narwhale daemon making soft, submissive sounds. The girl always got mad when someone pointed out that she wasn't exactly normal.

But at that moment Isil came flying back down, and she didn't have time to say anything else. The daemon landed into the water and turned back into a dolphin, allowing its human to hold on to its dorsal fin.

"The city kids just won. The other gypsies ran away, and those at the base know nothing about it. Our friends will be here any minute, so I suggest we get in close. Let's go, but be very quiet. If we mess this up, there's no chance that we can win." And with that, the grayish daemon gently turned around, and, as deep in the water as if could go without drowning Selene, it swan delicately towards shore.

Near the muddy bank, where the kids stood, chatting softly, it stopped again. Isil waited a few seconds, and out of the blue, there came a powerful shout.

A great troop of filthy, dripping city kids came rushing out of the storage area, and the gypsies, surprised, took a moment to retaliate. Then, without much more hesitation they all charged, screaming, and left only one young girl behind to guard the castle.

Her daemon, a white seagull with a black head, was flying around her, screeching.

Isil dove underwater and at amazing speed, traveled to the shore.

As soon as she felt ground under her feet, Selene rose and began running out of the water. She slipped and tripped in the mud, scratching her feet on sharp rocks, but she paid no attention to it.

In the confused, heat of the battle, amidst the flying balls of mud, Isil ran beside her human in a leopard form, leaping in the water and slashing it everywhere.

As both set feet on the drier shore, the girl left behind to guard the base noticed them at last. She screamed and her daemon screeched louder, but it was too late; Isil leaped and brought her seagull down in a single swish of her paw, and the girl fell as well.

Selene and the two boys ran to the wet castle and began stomping all over it. At that moment the gypsies realized what was going on, and thanks to their sudden confusion, the city kids were able to hit them enough times to make them run away.

The girl guard picked up her seagull daemon and dashed away also, slipping on the mud.

Selene raised both her hand in the air and laughed loudly, as all other city kids came running to the base, stomping the castle and throwing mud in the air as a celebration.

Passersbys further along the bank, on the edge of the muddy ground, smiled as they saw the kids, running around and screaming.

But out of the normal, adult people suddenly came an angry-looking woman with her long blond hair escaping from its pretty bun. Her long, rich dress dragged in the mud, but she didn't seem to care. Her dark eyes flashed as she searched the kids and her pine marten daemon glared, looking for someone too.

"Selene!" The woman bellowed, stopping feet from the celebrating victors. Most of the kids screamed at seeing an adult and bolted without any reason. But Selene's eyes widened and Isil, still in a filthy leopard form, crushed her ears against he head and snarled.

"Get out of here." She hissed at her human, before the blonde woman could say single word.

Selene turned around, wet and dirty blond hair flying, and dashed towards the canal. The woman tried to follow, but slipped and fell with an angry groan.

The girl wobbled into the cool waters and as soon as she was deep enough, she dove headfirst. Isil turned into a dolphin to help her out, and they went under a passing ship, disappearing from view.

Lyra got back up and glared after the ship beyond which her daughter had disappeared.

(0)

How was it? This scene was just and intro, and to me, it was kinda short. Next chapter will be better, if this one wasn't.


	2. Lyra's grudge

"C'mon Selene, help me out here!" Isil said urgently as they emerged from under the boat they had vanished behind to get away from Lyra. The blonde girl, now a bit more clean than she was a few seconds ago, coughed and gripped her dolphin daemon's dorsal fin for support. She kicked her feet around furiously in the water and wiped her eyes clear.

"That was close." She pointed out, sighing. Isil did not answer, and the girl knew why. She helped her daemon as much as she could to swim to the other side of the canal, all the time waiting for her to start nagging about her mother.

As expected, Isil breathed in and started.

"I think you're doing the wrong thing, hating her like that.' She said categorically. 'After all, she is your mother."

Selene growled.

"I don't care! Besides, she doesn't even care about me: all she cares about is that stupid alethiometer of hers and her rich husband, who, BY THE WAY, is NOT my father."

They reached the slightly sandy banks and the girl jumped away from her daemon, pulling herself up on a rock instead. Isil turned into a pretty parrot and fluttered down on a root beside her.

"I think she cares about you." She said softly, after a moment of silence. Selene's lip curled in dislike and she turned away.

Finally, she turned back to Isil, and the daemon saw she had tears in her eyes. Immediately, she felt pity for her human, for she was a brave girl, and almost never cried, unless there was a reason. She turned into a fluffy reddish cat and curled to her beloved human, who hugged her tight.

"Oh, Isil!' Selene cried softly, her tears maculating the cat's fur. 'I know she doesn't care! All she wants from me is to be a good student and go to school! But I hate school so much! She doesn't listen when I tell her I want to be like she once was: adventurous and free. She doesn't care for who I want to be at all! I wish I knew my real father; I wish I knew Will! He would care. I know it!"

The girl shook her head and many tears fell from her eyes like crystals. Isil licked her cheek softly, and the flow of tears slowed down a bit.

"She keeps telling us about him, before we go to sleep, and keeps reminding us that we can never see him, or the Specters will invade the world and Dust will escape. But I don't believe that, Selene. I believe that if we keep hoping to see him, one day we will! We must keep hoping, my Selene!" The daemon started to purr loudly, trying to cheer its human up. Every time the girl cried, it felt like its heart would burst from the pain.

A few last tears of love fell from the girl's eyes and suddenly, with a deep, steadying breath she regained control of herself.

"Yes.' She said, determined. 'We must keep hoping. We'll see him some day."

(0)

"Lyra!" A tall man with pale skin and raven-black hair came running in the mud down to his wife, who stood at the edge of the filthy canal, glaring at a boat. He wondered why she was sending the ship that kind of look.

His proud ferret daemon clutched his shoulder, looking around at the few remaining kids with disdain in her eyes: how they were filthy!

"Lyra, my love! What's wrong? Why did you come running here?" James O'Connory asked, slipping to a stop next to his beautiful wife. Pantalaimon, her daemon, sent him a look and immediately hid in her messy hair.

She turned to him, her eyes on fire, and he knew exactly what had happened. She got that look only in very special occasions: when her daughter managed to get away from her or disobey something. Both of which, by the way, happened very often.

"She was playing with those damned kids again, wasn't she?" James asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing over his shoulder at the gypsies and city kids that stood there, looking at both of them. Meerama, his daemon, snarled at them and a few other daemons turned into leopards, lions and wolves to intimidate her and show that this was their turf.

But the vicious female bared her sharp little teeth again, and this time, all the kids dashed away. James concentrated on his wife again. But before he could say a word, she raised a hand to his face coldly.

"I'm going home." Her voice quivered as if she was about to cry, and turning around, and walked away with all the grace she could muster.

The man gaped at her, and after exchanging a glance with Meerama, decided to leave the woman time to think.

(0)

But Lyra did not go directly to their mansion. Instead, she walked around the city, ignoring all strange looks sent her way because of her dirty dress.

She arrived to a large park, where kids were running around, screaming. Suddenly, she realized this was the same park at which she had seen Aurore Borealis for the first time. At the thought of her last adventure with Will, she felt herself weaken, and was forced to rush to a bench.

Pan licked her cheek as she breathed slowly, calming herself down. Slowly the world stopped spinning, and she rested against the back support, closing her eyes.

"My God how I miss him." Lyra breathed out, barely audible. Pan gave her a sudden, annoyed nibble to the ear, and she knew exactly what he was going to tell her.

"Lyra, I know why you dislike Selene so much. . ."

She cut in brutally. " I don't DISLIKE her."

The daemon sighed patiently, and when he was sure she wasn't going to spit anything else out, he continued.

"You dislike her (she clench her teeth but didn't say a word) because she looks so much like Will."

Lyra scoffed. "She does not look like him!" But it was a lie and she knew it. Pan smirked softly.

"Oh yes she does. She has those same eyes, a strong chin and that same strong, leading attitude. She also has the power to pass unnoticed like he, even though she is usually loud and provocative like you. You can't deny she is really her father's daughter. And you also can't deny you hate her for being like him, Lyra." The daemon bowed his head silently, waiting for her fury and confusion to pass.

When she had regained control of herself, Lyra realized there was nothing she could add: it was true, all that her daemon had said. As her daughter had grown up, she had started to hate her for being like Will, and had grown cold towards her. Lately, all she cared about was her good grades and civilized behavior, both of which the rebellious girl lacked.

Perhaps she had been cruel. . .yet she could not bring herself to forgive the innocent child.

With an angry sigh, the woman rose, tall, beautiful and terrible, and stomped away towards the street, where she was swallowed by the massive crowd.

(0)

Done with this chappy. I hope this kinda explains why Selene hates Lyra. . .

Kaiame: I understand why you desire to see more of my absolutely amazing writing, therefore, I offer you this absolutely amazing chapter. (uh. . .I think my ego just grew to the size of Texas, here. . .)

Xsummerbabyx: Thanks for the first review. It's good that you feel special; everyone should feel special. And now I suppose you know why Selene hates Lyra.

Next chapter, Selene decides to get back home, and receives her mother's and fake father's fury. To get revenge, she decides to sneak into Lyra's study and steal something, but then, her eyes set on the alethiometer and the real trouble begins.


	3. James's wrath

Isil glanced at the setting sun and ruffled her raven wings gently, snapping Selene out of her reverie. The girl blinked, looking up, and noticed suddenly that night was falling.

"Oh. . .'She said softly, uncurling her legs from under herself. 'I guess we'd better go." Isil did a chirping noise, and spread out of long wings, brushing the tips against her human's cheek. She jumped and quickly flapped them, letting the gentle breeze lift her up high.

Selene got up clumsily and stretched; her muscles protested, tingling, because she had sat unmoving for so long. She felt stiff, yet she ignored it, and got ready to leave.

With a last glance at the falling sun, and her daemon as it rose into the air, the girl grabbed a nearby root and heaved herself up to the paved street on the side of the canal. It was time to face her mother's fury.

(0)

"Will, dear, are you alright?" Alexandra touched her fiancée's hand softly. The man jumped, as if snapping out of a deep thought, and looked up at her. The young, black-haired woman was unable to make out the man's dark gaze, and shifted restlessly, making him drop his eyes back to the book he was reading.

"Yes, Alex. Don't worry about me; I'm fine. I swear." Will smiled up at her, but she found it was something of a fake smile; it looked like he was forcing it to paint itself over his face.

She bit her lip, but said nothing about that. "Well, I'll go for my walk. Are you sure you don't want to come? Fresh air might do you some good. . ." She whispered, passing a graceful hand in his dark hair.

Alexandra might seem a tern-looking, simple woman to most, but for those who looked closer, there was something beautiful, mysterious and yet simple about her. Will did not know why he had chosen her over all the other women out there, or why he had asked to wed her.

All he knew is that she seemed to fill up a void inside him, and helped him get over Lyra slowly, even though she did not know it. He had spoken to no one of his past love and adventures, save Mary Malone and his mother.

"Yes, I'm sure, dear. I want to finish this book, and I guess I'll go to sleep. It's been a long day for me. . ." He answered gently.

Her fingers squeezed his shoulder softly, and she smiled.

"Yeah, I know your job must be hard. . .anyway; I'll be back soon. . ." And with a wink she was gone.

Will looked down at the book. He did not even know the title of it, for he had not read a page of it; his thoughts were bent on a woman that lived so far yet so very close, and it tortured him not to know what she was doing right now.

The man sighed, and turned his feelings to his job as a scientist, and all his work about Dust and the parallel worlds. He was famous for his theories and discoveries, and yet, there was something missing in this perfect life. . .and that something was not just Lyra. . .

It was a young girl with blond hair named Selene.

(0)

Selene walked up the stairs to the rich, large brick home she lived in. In her filthy clothes and messy hair, she seemed like a beggar hoping for some money from the wealthier. Very few could believe that her mother was the famous Lyra Silvertongue, who could read the alethiometer faster than anyone in the world.

But she hated living here; she hated the money, the big rooms, the great parties and her step father. She hated it because it was all fake, and she knew it. She hated it with her heart and soul, because she felt like a wild animal that had been captured and placed into a false, man-made habitat so it could feel at home. . .but it could never be at home in a fake nature. . .

Isil landed on the ground as the girl pushed open the large wooden doors that lead to the entrance hall. She transformed quickly into a black panther, baring fangs and bristling her fur.

When they came in, Rosalie, their maid and nanny looked up from the vase of red roses she had been arranging.

"Oh, Miss Selene! Your mother and. . .father wish to see you. They are in the living room." Rosalie said with a bow. Selene noted the pause she had marked before saying that James was her father and she was thankful for it: because even though the maid could not openly express her dislike towards the man, she could still mock him in ways only the girl heard.

So Selene walked slowly towards the living room, taking her time and drawing on the couple's patience. She did not wish to face them, knowing she was only going to get screamed at by both.

But the room was inevitable, and within five minutes, her feet suddenly left the wooden floor and connected with a fluffy blue carpet. Selene looked up, and Isil growled softly.

James sat on a couch, his ferret daemon resting on his shoulder, eyes narrowed. Lyra was sitting next to him, and upon her daughter's entrance, she looked up from the heavy volume she had been reading.

"Sit." James said coolly, pointing to a chair. Selene obeyed, and Isil quietly showed her fangs to Meerama, who only blinked in return.

But the girl was quick to note that Pantalaimon had come out from beneath her mother's loose hair and shot a deadly look at James's daemon. It had been only a few split seconds, but it had been there all the same. It clearly showed that Lyra somewhat disagreed with the way her husband dared try to raise a child that was not truly his.

"Well. What do you have to say for your behavior?" James demanded, raising an eyebrow.

Selene shot him and ugly look. "Nothing." She hissed.

Meerama scoffed, and this infuriated the girl. She wished to snatch the daemon and rip it's head off. At that thought, Isil shifted nervously, trying to chase those bad thought's from it's human's head.

"I thought I made myself clear the last time, Selene. You are not to play in the streets with those gypsy kids, or the city kids. You are to stay in the house and study for school." James pointed out.

Selene glared at him. "It's summer! I don't even have school!"

"Indeed. Your grades, however, have been very low, and you are to spend your summer working to raise them." The man spat out.

"WE will not." Isil snarled deeply, eyes flashing; this surprised everyone, because the daemon was usually calm, her human was the one to snap and growl.

Selene shot it a look, but received none in return.

"Oh yes you will, you vile little. . ." Meerama began, angry, and jumped to her human's lap. But before she could finish, in one, swift movement, Isil had leap forward and snapped her jaws without much concern, closing them only inches from the ferret's face.

It squealed and vanished in James's jacket.

Immediately Lyra, her husband and Selene got up and started screamed at one another. One camp affronted the other.

"YOU WILL NEVER DO SUCH A THING AGAIN!" Lyra bellowed, fists clenched, eyes in fury. Tears of hate and rage welled up in Selene's eyes, but she would not let them out.

"I WILL DO AS I PLEASE! THIS IS MY HOME, AND MY LIFE! YOU WILL NOT CONTROL ME LIKE THIS, OR TRAP ME!" She screamed back.

"DON'T TALK TO YOUR MOTHER LIKE THAT!" James added, his voice booming above all others. The girl turned fiery eyes towards him, and Lyra was suddenly reminded of Will, and felt her strength leave her. . .

"And YOU! Who are you to talk? You're not even my father!" Selene yelled ragefully. Then, she froze, frightened by the look that passed on the man's face as the words rung through the room.

Very suddenly, out of nowhere, his hand fell from the air and collided harshly with her face. Selene gasped and choked back tears, as she clenched a hand over her reddening cheek. Isil turned into a robin and flew to her, glaring reproachfully at the man as he breathed in deeply.

There was much anger in his eyes.

"Go to your room. NOW." His voice was calm, yet very dangerous.

With an dry sob, followed by a screech from Isil, who had turned into a large barn owl, Selene ran away from the room.

James sat down, breathing in deeply to calm himself. Meerama had a proud look on her face, and didn't notice Pan, who sent her disgusted one. Lyra sat down as well.

"I don't think you should have done that." She whispered.

The man shrugged.

(0)

"I can't believe it!" Selene hissed, stomping up the stairs to the floor on which her room was. Isil roared, in the form of an ocelot, agreeing with her. Fury still rung in both of them.

They reached the second floor (there were only three) and turned right from the stairs. Selene's room was on the end of the corridor.

"How dare he. . ." She hissed through clenched teeth. Her daemon snorted angrily, but suddenly, it froze. Selene took a few more steps, muttering under her breath, before she realized her daemon wasn't at her side anymore.

She turned around and frowned at the large cat.

"Isil. . .what are you. . .?" But then she noticed that the daemon was looking at a slightly ajar door; the door that lead to Lyra's study, where she spent days and days looking at those old books to read the alethiometer.

Isil turned into a beautiful harpy eagle, and flew to Selene's shoulder as the girl came to the door and reached out her hand. . .slowly, as if in a dream, she pushed it open. . .

Silently, the door opened, revealing a dark office, with plenty of shelf on the walls, all covered in books. There were also a few glass-door cabinets, filled with all sorts of old items: daggers, compasses, altimeters. . .

Not wanting to turn on the light and wake anyone up, Selene walked in and told Isil to turn into a firefly. The daemon did, and a soft glow embraced the room. The pair started to walk side by side.

"This is wrong. . ." Isil hissed softly. The girl shrugged.

"It's revenge. We'll just take something from the study and hide it. It'll show them!"

"And you think they won't know it was us?"

"Of course not! We'll just act innocent!" Selene hushed her daemon and walked up to a pretty cabinet near the large desk in the end of the room.

Isil sat on her shoulder and both peered in, looking through the glass for something to take; something that had valor.

Selene's eyes slid slowly from object to objects, and suddenly she gasped.

"I know what to take!" She murmured, and her daemon looked at the object as well.

Lying on a black cloth of silk, glinting in Isil's pale light, there was the alethiometer.

(0)

Done! This took a while to write, cuz I kinda got a writer's block for a while.

By the way, if you don't know what an ocelot and a harpy eagle are, here's a website that will give you pictures of both: www. Sdnp. Org. gy / gallery / mm / wildlife .html (just take out the spaces.)

On with the reviews. Thanks everyone!

Unnamed: Thanks! And Lyra married him kinda out of spite, because she knew she couldn't get Will, and she wanted someone, so she just picked the richest guy and got with him. Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but she's kinda messed up right now.

FoxOfRoses: Nah, he's not really evil, so to speak, but he is mean. He's kinda the type of guy that's like: ok, so I got a woman that already has a kid, so we won't have to go through all the pregnancy thing. I'll just raise Selene as my own kid and one day, she'll be grateful for it.

Quizgirl: Isil is a female kinda because of the fact that Selene's dad was from another world. It's like an anomaly. And I know that Lyra should love her daughter, but over the years she kinda grew to hate Will even though she loved him, and that hate moved on to her daughter.

Ps: At least YOU can drive a car!

Zaphdae: Yeah, I didn't want Lyra's and Selene's relationship to be like that either, but just. . .kinda worked out like that. And James is freaky, isn't he? Typical mean, rich dad.

And as you see, Will is fiancée'd: he kinda didn't get over Lyra yet. . .

Xsummerbabyx: Yeah, clear as mud. . .but I swear it'll get clearer as we go! Thanks for reviewing!

Kaiame: . . .I think you had too much sugar. . .lol. Thanks for the review!

Next chapter: Selene takes away the alethiometer. But when her mother realizes, in the middle of the night, that it's gone, the girl has no choice but to run for it before James finds out. Only once she's safe does she actually think of looking closer at it. . .

ADVERTISMENT: If you guys like Harry Potter fics, go read Flight of the Raven. That's my story on HP. It's kind of the prequel to the last year in Hogwarts, and it focuses on the Death Eaters and Voldemort a lot. I also plan on making it pretty dark. . .check it out!


	4. The flight

"Selene. . ." Isil whispered urgently. All of a sudden, she felt like this was the wrong thing to do. Perhaps they shouldn't take the alethiometer.

"Quiet." The girl hissed back. She placed a hand on the cabinet's handle and turned it. . .to her dismay it opened! While Isil turned into a large snowy owl, the girl dove a hand into the cupboard and took the object. It was the first time she ever held it, and it was surprisingly heavy.

"Let's go!" Isil begged softly, glancing around desperately. Selene tucked the alethiometer into her loose shirt and with a last glance around her, dashed out of the study, went down the corridor and quickly into her room.

But she forgot to close the cabinet door.

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Isil turned into a black leopard and started pacing around the large room, while Selene lay down on her queen-size bed. The white covers ruffled under her and got wet and dirty from touching her clothes.

"I don't like this at all. We shouldn't have done that!" The daemon muttered. The girl glared up at her.

"Excuse me? It was your idea!" She hissed, sitting up in an Indian-posture, with her legs crossed in front of her. The alethiometer was in her hand, gleaming softly.

Isil also glared. "Yeah, but I think we should bring it back anyway!"

The girl scoffed. "You know you don't want to. . ." She murmured. To this the daemon said nothing, for it was true. . .all Isil wanted was to look closer at the object now. So without another word, she pounced onto the bed and turned into a silver ferret, settling herself on her human's shoulder.

Together they looked down at the golden instrument.

"I wonder how it works. . ." Selene muttered. But to her, her voice suddenly seemed distant. She felt herself relax, as if she was zoning out of her body. It was as though looking at this instrument had woken up something deep and eternal inside of her. . .

"It's almost as if. . ." Selene gasped.

Isil nodded. "As if you could understand. . ."

The one large arrow was immobile. But it seemed to quiver gently and the girl clear understood that it was impatient, for some reason.

She looked at it intently, wondering what to do.

"Ask it something." Isil whispered in her ear.

Selene nodded gently and her fingers, as if obeying an invisible master, moved towards the three other, smaller arrows. She moved one, gently, but with nothing but luck guiding her and just as she was about to move the other, her daemon sudden gasped, and looked up. The feeling of serenity disappeared.

"Someone's coming!"

The girl quickly dove towards her pillow, and stuck the alethiometer under it just in time, when the doorknob to her room turned and Rosalie's head popped in.

Selene tried to appear innocent, lying on her bed her filthy clothes, and her daemon quickly turned into a sleepy-looking puppy to encourage her blamelessness. The woman smiled softly and her dog daemon popped his head in as well.

"'Thought you'd like a bath, so I got you one ready, Miss." She said gently.

Trying not to show the immense relief that washed over her, Selene nodded and got up, following the woman out of her room.

"What about the alethiometer?" Isil whispered into her ear as they crossed the corridor to the other side, where the bathroom was.

"It'll wait. . ." The girl hissed back.

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Selene indulged in the warm, bubbly bath, and Isil sat on a chair next to the tub, smoothing out the fresh clothes Rosalie had brought in a few minutes ago. The daemon had taken on the form a beautiful golden monkey, and seemed very thoughtful. The girl noticed this soon enough.

"Thinking about the alethiometer?" She asked gently. The monkey looked up, letting her hands glide one last time over the pretty white shirt, cotton panties and dark knee-long skirt that were folded on the chair. Isil sighed.

"Truthfully, no. A thought just crossed my mind. . .' She paused, and Selene waited for her to continue. 'Well, every time I take on this form, Lyra and Pan seem to either flinch or soften up. And I don't know why. . ."

Selene shrugged. "Why does that bother you?" She asked, scrubbing her face softly, trying to get rid of the mud that had crusted there. Isil moved in closer to the tub, and seized a bottle of shampoo, before putting some on her hands and washing her human's hair.

"Well, you know how Lyra never told us either the name or appearance of her mom's daemon. . ." She let her phrase in suspension, and Selene brutally turned her head to the daemon.

"You don't think Mrs. Coulter's daemon was like. . .like you now?" She asked, disbelieving. Isil nodded gently, and continue washing the girl's hair.

"That's what I was thinking about. . .because when I get angry in this form, Pan gets scared, and when I'm like this normally, he seems on the verge of tears. . ."

Selene gave this a thought, as she rinsed her clean face. "It would be understandable. . .but why were you thinking about that?"

Isil shrugged. "I guess I was wondering. . .if we ever had to run. . .what form would I have to take in order to startle them the most. . .?"

The girl burst out laughing, and the daemon washed the foam out of her hair, and handed her a towel.

"Isil! Why would we have to run?" She asked, giggling, and stepped out of the bath tub, wiping herself in the towel.

The daemon was about to answer, when a load crashing noise came from the study.

"SELENE!" Lyra's voice exploded from the outside. She had found out about the alethiometer.

The girl gasped, and grabbed her clothes quickly.

"That's why. Get dressed, hurry! We have to get pass her and to your room, and grab the alethiometer. There's a purse on your desk with money in it. Grab that too. I'll keep them at bay as long as I can, but I don't guarantee you more than a minute. I'll come get you out of there when you're ready. HURRY!" Isil yelled.

Selene jumped into her clothes, just as the bathroom door burst open. There stood a furious Lyra and snarling Pan. But right then, Isil turned her monkey head, and bared her teeth with such savagery that the woman seemed startled. Pan cowered back and even Selene felt all her strength leave her. . .

But Isil did not wait; she pounced ahead, landing on Lyra, and the girl felt a terrible shiver run through her as someone else touched her daemon. . .the woman seemed to be trying to get Isil off, but the monkey held on, giving its human a chance to run. . .

Selene dashed out; leaping over the rolling pair, and immediately Isil let go, leaping after her.

James came running up the stairs, and blocked her way. . .that was it. . .it was over. . .

"KEEP GOING!" Isil bellowed, jumping ahead. In mid-air she turned into an imposing lion and crushed the man under her weight. Meerama bit at her leg furiously, but she did not feel it, turning all her attention to Selene, who had just passed the door to her room.

Selene leap onto her bed, grasping the instrument under her pillow. She then got up quickly and ran to her desk, picking up the purse. She felt terrible pain run through her, blinding her, as Pan and Meerama both bit at Isil, trying to calm the daemon down.

With tears running down her face, thanking the love of her daemon, she screamed.

"ISIL!"

The daemon heard her, and threw Pan off with a great swish of her claws. The little pine marten went flying into a wall, and Lyra, who was trying to get to her daughter, fell to the ground in the middle of the corridor with a cry of pain.

Isil leap from James and ran as fast as she could towards the room. . .

Passing Lyra, she turned into a large black horse and with a neigh, bowed her head to enter the girl's room. Selene was stunned, but not nearly as stunned as she could be when she noticed Meerama was still clinging to the daemon's leg, screeching in pain. James's cries reached them from the corridor, as he called her his daemon.

Selene pried the ferret from Isil's leg and jumped onto the horse's back, holding on as well as she could. The great creature neighed and dashed forward as Lyra entered the room, gasping, hand over her heart.

Isil ran right at the open balcony, and as her human screamed, she leap over the stone parapet and jumped into emptiness. . .falling two floors lower onto a grassy yard, landing heavily but without much damage.

The girl held on and with a final neigh, the daemon dashed away towards the nearby forest, galloping as fast as it could, away from the giant cage that house had been, and into freedom.

Lyra ran onto the balcony, Pan stumbling after her. She dropped to her knees as the black horse disappeared into the woods. . .

"What have I done. . .?" The woman gasped, horrified.

(0)

Yonk! How was that? Sorry it took a while to get out, but I was having problems with fanfiction. . .for some reason . . .

FoxOfRoses: Yeah, that's close enough. . .

Unnamed: No, Lyra isn't crazy, crazy. She's just confused and corrupted by her feelings. And Will actually is trying to let Lyra go, and Alex is there to help him out. And no, he isn't crazy. . .

Kaiame: Yeah, I thought sugar came in here somewhere. . . Thanks for the review!

Xsummerbabyx: Yeah, thanks for checking out Flight of the Raven! And I'm glad to see you like both my stories!

Quizgirl: Well yeah, I can get the license, but I can't drive without a parent. Besides, I'm fifteen so that doesn't help either! And I corrected that link. If you didn't check it out yet, you should go see! Thanks for reviewing!

Next chapter, Selene sets out on a journey to reach her father. And with the help of the alethiometer, she heads for something that will change the fate of every parallel world. . .


	5. Will's nightmare

Will woke up in the middle of the night with a start, sitting up rigidly in his and Alexandra's bed. His heart was racing and his breath was short, making him feel as though he had ran a million miles.

Alex shifted and woke up as well, feeling his sudden agitation. She sat up slowly, looking at him through a curtain of darkness.

"Will?' She mumbled sleepily. 'What's wrong, dear?"

He turned his head slowly to her and sighed.

"Nothing, Alex. I. . .I just had a bad dream. . .sorry I woke you up like that. . ." He finally answered softly. The woman nodded and yawned.

"Don't worry about it, Will. Just go back to sleep. . .good night. . ." And she dropped back down onto her pillow, falling asleep before her head touched the cushion.

The man sighed gently and remembered his dream: that of a young girl escaping from a certain blond woman. . .yet it was not because he was frightened that he had woken up so suddenly; it was because that girl was his daughter, Selene, and the woman was Lyra. . .and he knew there must be trouble somewhere in another world. . .

Kirjava uncurled from near the open window and walked up to him. Nowadays, she was extremely quiet and if Will wasn't linked to her, he would have forgotten she existed. Alex knew nothing of daemons and she could not see the pretty cat, because Will had never taught her how to.

"Will, we can't keep living in the past like this. . ." Kirjava whispered, jumping onto the bed like a shadow. He looked at her with uncertainty.

"Kir. . .but she's my daughter! I can't just. . .pretend she never happened. . ." He whispered back, hoping Alex couldn't hear him. He would sound crazy if she saw him talking to what seemed like emptiness.

The cat bowed its head and Will saw this movement thanks to the pale light of the moon.

"I think you'll meet her in due time. . ." She answered mysteriously and as if to make sure he understood the conversation was over; she turned her back and returned to the window. The man blinked after his daemon, but knew that no more of his question would be answered, so he let it be.

Will lay back down in the lavender-colored bed sheets and closed his eyes. He just hoped his daughter and past love were fine, because it had seemed to him like Selene was fleeing from her mom. . .he sure hoped the dream was wrong. . .

(0)

"Isil. . ." Selene murmured. The daemon obviously heard her human, because she began slowing down from her speedy galop, until she was only walking slowly through the dark forest.

It was a moment before she answered her human.

"What is it?" Isil finally breathed.

Selene hesitated as well.

"I think. . .I think it was dumb to just dash out like that. . ." The girl finally blurted out. Her daemon stopped completely.

"Selene. . .' Isil sighed. 'We had no choice, and you know it. . .you saw her fury, didn't you? If we didn't run, we would regret it dearly. . .besides, it'll show them that we're human too and we have our limits; limits that cannot be crossed. . ."

The girl shrugged and slipped off her daemon's back. Isil transformed into a large wolf, to protect her human against all animals of the forest.

They were in a tiny clearing, under heavy pine trees and thick oaks. The monstrous trees rose at their sides, terrible and yet so beautiful. Selene kneeled down and started going through her pack, under the pale light of the near-full moon.

Her backpack had some money in it, a bit of food, some clothes and a bottle of water. To this the young girl added the alethiometer, since she knew it was too dark for her to try and read it just yet. Then suddenly, she realized something and her head snapped up to her daemon.

"Isil?' She questioned softly. The wolf's ears perked up, and the girl knew her daemon was listening. 'You knew we were going to run, didn't you? That's why you got this pack ready, right? You knew. . ."

But the daemon shook her head. "I didn't know we were going to run TODAY. I just knew it was going to happen soon, because of how you were getting in trouble a lot lately. I got some stuff ready and just left it lying around your desk. But you know, it wasn't so hard to figure out we'd run tonight anyways: Lyra was bound to find out about the alethiometer and then, we'd in so much trouble we'd have to run. . ."

Selene nodded slowly and sat on the cool forest earth. The air was warm, but a little breeze flew through the trees, shivering their leaves.

"What should we do now?" The girl finally questioned, looking upwards. The trees were too thick for her to see the sky, so she turned her attention back to her daemon.

Isil shrugged her wolf shoulders gently. "I think we should sleep and wait 'till morning. Then we can try and see the alethiometer. . .maybe that'll help. . ."

Selene nodded, and grabbing her backpack, she pulled a blanket out of it and curled up on the floor. Her daemon lay down beside her, snout on her front paws.

"Good night then, Isil."

"Good night, Sele. . ."

But neither could sleep comfortably in the small, silent clearing.

(0)

"Selene, it's time to wake up!" Isil gently prodded her human with a raven beak. The girl groaned and shifted, but refused to wake up. The annoyed daemon rolled its eyes and suddenly snapped its sharp beak over the child's wrist, causing her to yell out.

"OW!" Selene jumped up and found her daemon hanging by her wrist. Isil let go and fell to the ground, changing into a cat before her paws got to the dirt.

The daemon quickly moved away and sat at a safe distance from her human, looking at the girl.

"So?" Isil suddenly asked.

"So what?" Selene demanded rather coldly, rubbing her wrist.

The cat rolled its eyes. "Well, it's morning; aren't you going to check the alethiometer out?" She questioned.

Selene looked up at the thick canopy of leaves over their heads and saw streams of light filtering here and there, leaving blotches of sunlight all over the leafy ground. Just now she realized that it was indeed day.

Ignoring her daemon, first thing she did was plunge a hand into her backpack, fishing around for the golden compass. When she seized the delicate material in which it was wrapped, she pulled it out.

Meanwhile, Isil had gotten onto her human's shoulder and had turned into a blue jay. She ruffled her pretty wings restlessly as the girl withdrew the instrument and fumbled with the silk cover of it.

Finally Selene had the thing out and she held it both hands, placing them on her lap. Isil turned into a chinchilla, gripping the girl's shirt with her little claws to hold on as she bent forward to see the alethiometer.

"Let's try this again. . .do it just like last. . ." The daemon started, but suddenly it stopped: it had suddenly been overwhelmed by a wave of cool, calm feelings, as if she had plunged into a warm bath after a long, hard day.

At the same time, Selene felt her every muscle relax slowly, and her mind seemed to become clouded. She immediately associated this feeling with the last time she had tried to use the alethiometer, and she let herself be guided into this state of serenity.

After a few seconds, Isil spoke up.

"Go. . .the arrows. . ." She felt too calm to try and break the silence, so she said as little as possible. The message got through however, and Selene slowly moved the arrows, with a certain assurance, as though she had done this all her life.

She guided the first arrow towards the picture of the wild man. She turned the second arrow to the picture of the tree. Selene led the last arrow to the apple.

Then, the big one began to spring wildly and she blinked, surprised, releasing herself brutally from her relaxed state. Isil blinked as well, stunned, and the big arrow froze.

After a moment of silence, the daemon spoke up.

"What did you ask?" She whispered.

Selene gazed at the instrument for a moment, wondering herself; for even she was not sure what had guided her hands to the symbols. . . .

"I. . .'She started, then took a deep breath and continued. 'I chose the wild man first, because I was thinking about Will. It seemed like the right thing to do. . .then, I picked the tree, because I was thinking of a home; you know: like the tree-houses some kids built around here. . .and finally, I chose the apple, because it's like the apple in the Adam and Eve story: it kind of represents the search for knowledge, and I was looking for the knowledge as in to where my dad is. . ."

The girl fell quiet. The words had seemed strange, as if she had not spoken them, but they had come out of her mouth all the same. . .

Isil nodded slowly. "We should try again. . .this time, let's try to figure out the answer thought. . ."

(0)

Bah, I'm too much of a lazy bum to keep writing, so I'll leave it to that. . .

Nicola Silvera: Thanks! And I know what you mean. But it just seemed. . .right. . . to me like that. Oh well. . .

KailEverwood: Thanks; appreciated.

Lyraartemispotter: She's not that bad. . .we'll at least I can guarantee she'll change.

Quizgirl: Yeah. . .I wanted Selene to have some kind of momentary link to her grandma. . .

Emmelz: I think you have to go read the prequel. . .

Zephdae: Hope the motivations became clearer!

Xsummerbabyx: Sorry for not updating for so long!

FoxOfRoses: Yes, I suspected that. . .

Kaiame: Yes, I suppose we can blame the dad for that. . .

Unnamed: Yes, it would have been awesome, but I don't think Selene is going to have that kind of power in this fic. . .though I'm thinking of making Aurora come back. . .do you think that's a good idea?

Next chapter, Selene gets some answers, as Lyra tries to figure out what she should do. . .will she finally see through James's apathy towards her daughter? Or will she let her own child go towards a destiny she cannot possibly control?


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